LITMIR.BIZ

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for common ground. From now on his common ground with Piper McKinney was property lines, drawn by surveyors required for his mortgage.

      Neighbors.

      That was that. A deck to build was more than enough to fill his vacation time. Backbreaking work under a blazing summer sun would put thoughts of Piper where they belonged: out of sight, out of mind.

      * * *

      “Puppies? Dumped? Are you kidding me, Zach? Who would do that?”

      Piper’s maternal expression put Zach right back in the zone he’d decried not minutes before, which meant he really needed to work harder to put her out of his thoughts. “Dad was wondering if you had anything over here to help raise them. If we can save them, that is.”

      “I don’t, but Luke will.” She pulled out her phone, hit a number on her speed dial and was connected to Luke Campbell in seconds.

      But it was plenty long enough for Zach to read the writing on the wall.

      Campbell liked animals.

      He had a cute kid.

      He’d been widowed for over two years.

      He was a nice guy.

      And he had baby puppy formula supplement. That took a first-place blue ribbon right there.

      Zach stopped the list of attributes before it grew any longer. If Campbell and Piper were a done deal, he needed to face reality.

      Luke and his little boy pulled into Piper’s yard fifteen minutes later. He retrieved a bag of supplies while his son, Aiden, climbed out of the booster seat in back.

      Piper approached him, apologetic. “I hope you didn’t have to get Aiden out of bed. One of us―” she nodded in Zach’s direction “―could have come over and picked it up.”

      Luke noogied his son’s head. “Bedtime’s late this time of year, and I promised him ice cream. That made hopping into the car a quick deal.”

      Piper smiled down at the little boy. “I would do most anything for ice cream, too, kid. Do you want to go play with the girls?”

      Aiden shook his head, shy. He leaned into his father’s leg as if seeking support.

      “He can hang with us.” Luke sent a smile of approval to the boy. “Where are the puppies?”

      “His place.” Piper motioned to Zach as she moved toward the cut-through between the barns. “Zach, do you know Luke?”

      “We met at the breast cancer run last October, and on the Whitehorse Café case. And I’m working the bicentennial with your brother Seth.” Zach reached out a hand, shook Luke’s and tried to make his greeting something other than tepid.

      He failed. Miserably.

      But Luke’s smile said he was oblivious to Zach’s true feelings. “I remember. You busted loose and won the race, and gave the sheriff’s department necessary info to nail the guy who trashed the café. You live over here?”

      “Moved in a few weeks ago. I got to meet an old friend of yours, I hear.” Zach squatted to Aiden’s level as he indicated the far barn with a quick look to the right. “Beansy the goat.”

      The little boy’s eyes shone. His quick nod made Zach smile. But he stayed quiet, his grip tight on his father’s hand.

      They moved into Zach’s house, and Piper winced slightly. “It is hot in here.”

      “Hah.” Zach shot her an “I told you so” look that she shrugged off.

      “It’s cooler down here,” Marty called. He’d tucked the pups into the second-lowest level of the house.

      “Would the basement be better, Dad?” Zach wondered. “It’s even cooler there.”

      “Pups this age like eighty degrees,” Marty told them. “My wife bred dogs for years. She was finicky about keeping the temps hiked until they were two weeks old because they lose heat quickly.”

      “No fur.”

      “Right. What’ve we got here?” Marty shifted his gaze from Piper to Luke.

      “Eyedroppers, puppy supplement, disposable gloves, nail trimmers and baby wipes for their bottoms. And a recipe for making your own supplement in a few days. This is good for starters, but pricey.”

      “Well, let’s get started.” Marty handed them each an eyedropper, popped the top on a can of formula and bent low. “I’ll start with this little fella.”

      He picked up a tiny male pup with tender hands, then gained Luke’s approval by dropping a bead of milk on the pup’s upper lip, allowing the pup to find the milk with his tongue. It took several drops before the pup hunted for the source of the milk, but once he did, the pup pursed his tiny mouth avidly, drawing drops of food from the plastic tube.

      “Don’t overfeed this first time,” Luke counseled. “Give them a little, let their bodies adjust.”

      “Exactly right.” Marty shot him a look of approval. “You know things about pups.”

      “Or I’m a sucker for baby animals.” Luke smiled, stood and rolled his shoulders.

      Aiden tugged his hand, drawing Luke’s attention down. He smiled and rubbed the boy’s head. “You want to see Beansy?”

      The boy nodded.

      “And get ice cream before Lucia closes things up?”

      Aiden’s grin said his father read him clearly. “You guys are all right here?”

      Piper nodded as she crooned murmurs of love to the minute creature in her hand, the sound making Zach long to draw closer. But that would be stupid and shortsighted, so he stood along with Luke and moved toward the half-flight of stairs rising to the main level.

      “Be sure to rub their tummies,” Luke added as he and Aiden moved up the steps.

      “Will do.” Piper shot him a look of gratitude. “Thanks for running right over.”

      “Glad to help.”

      Zach followed Luke and Aiden out the door. The cooler air felt good against his face. “Thanks, Luke. You’re welcome to wait for Piper here, you know.”

      “Wait for...?” Luke turned, his face questioning, and in that gaze Zach read exactly what he hoped to see. “I’ll see her at the house. Or the next time we stop by.”

      An interested man would never brush off time with a woman like Piper. Zach understood that, and he shouldn’t be the least bit happy that Luke’s casual expression said there was nothing between him and the farmer next door. But he was happy. Very.

      Luke eyed him, then smiled. “You thought I had something going with Piper.”

      “Just didn’t want to get in anyone’s way,” Zach countered.

      Luke laughed out loud. “Well, if you can get by Piper McKinney’s cop-phobic attitude, more power to you. Her old fiancé did quite a number on her, and Piper doesn’t have much use for cops these days.”

      Zach’s arched brow invited Luke to continue, but Luke shook his head. “Not my story to tell, because Piper’s a good friend and has been for years, but if you do an internet search on Hunter Reilich, you’ll understand why she shies away from uniforms. Between her and Lucia, they don’t have a lot of trust in the system right now.”

      Reilich? The dirty cop who aided and abetted a racketeering ring after his father bought his way into the Clearwater Police Department?

      Zach had noted Lucia’s reticence. But Piper’s?

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